Being away from your phone is bad for you, apparently (Picture: Getty)

Being away from your phone for prolonged periods of time can cause actual psychological harm, according to science. Welcome to the future y’all – it’s terrifying.

You’d be forgiven for thinking it best to leave your iPhone on your desk while attending an important meeting, or keep it stowed away in your bag while on a dinner date, but researchers from the University of Missouri may just have proven you wrong.

Their recent study found that being separated from your mobile phone can actually lead to ‘physiological anxiety’ and ‘poor cognitive performance’. In layman’s terms that means getting all fidgety, sweaty and unable to concentrate on anything remotely taxing.

Researchers recruited 40 iPhone users and asked them to solve two puzzles. In the first instance, participants were asked to complete the puzzle with their phones safely by their side.

Then – and this is where it gets interesting – they were asked to complete another puzzle with their phones OUT OF REACH!